Bass of the Week: Stambaugh Designs 6-String Custom Inlayed Bass

Chris Stambaugh of Stambaugh Designs posts a “Build of the Month” on his website to show his best work of the month, and it’s incredible to see the range of styles he produces. This week, we check out a custom six-string design he featured in November 2012, with a dramatic fingerboard inlay and breath-taking body wood.

“This instrument is one of the most challenging, deluxe builds I’ve undertaken,” Stambaugh writes. “It’s hard to say which hits the eye more dramatically- the huge inlay or the incredible wood. The inlay was entirely designed by the client; it was simply up to me to not mess it up. I was lucky to score the last remaining Tahitian bronze pearl from the supplier, as it offered the perfect color for autumn leaves. A nice detail is the continuation of the branches onto the truss cover.”

The 6-string’s body, neck, knobs, pickup covers, and even the tuner buttons are all made from the same Peruvian walnut, which has an eye-popping figure. The bass also features a Gaboon ebony fretboard with maple and ebony binding. Electronics include a pair of Aero humbuckers matched to a Pope Flexcore preamp.